Homecoming
by Azul Bleu
Summary: Syaoran and Watanuki, or is it "Li Kimihiro"?, return to their family home.
1. Chapter 1

**Homecoming**

"Home sweet home," said Syaoran, opening the doors of the old Li house. "Phew! It's so dusty!"

"It's been seven years since anyone lived here," Watanuki (or was it now _Li Kimihiro_?) followed his new-found brother in.

"Fourteen since I saw it last." Syaoran appreciated it when Watanuki squeezed his shoulder. "There's something I have to tell you. You'd better sit."

Watanuki dusted off an old Chippendale and sat down.

"Do you remember your parents?"

"Our parents, you mean. They died a long time ago and then I… um, gave up the memories of them."

_Yes, for my sake he made a wish and gave up those memories. What a guy. _"Do you believe that they are dead?"

"Aren't they?"

"What if… Fei Wang implanted a false memory? You gave up the memory of our parents, but Fei Wang made you think they died for you?"

Watanuki was silent for a while. "Are- are they alive then?"

"Yeah. They had to leave, because of your wish-"

"Then it was worth it," Watanuki sighed, hiding his face in his hands. "I've felt so guilty, all this time… I thought it was my fault that they're dead-"

"They wouldn't want you to feel that way-"

"But they're alive after all," Watanuki smiled up at Syaoran, tears streaming. "They're alive!" He took Syaoran's hand and continued, "You'll never be alone anymore Syaoran!"

Syaoran was just amazed. _He still thinks mostly of my happiness? _Then he started worrying. _Do they remember me?_

The phone rang. The boys looked at it, knowing who it was, and suddenly nervous about talking to the parents they had not seen in seven and fourteen years.

"I- I'd better get that." said Watanuki. "Hullo?"

There was a pause. Then a female voice said, "Are you Kimihiro-kun?" In the background, a man, amazed, said, "You can tell just from _Hello_?"

"I am Kimihiro," said Watanuki, wondering not just at the familiar form of address, but the yearning he felt. He did not recognize the voices at all, yet he felt a huge longing to meet them. "Are you- are you –"

"We're your mother and father, Kimihiro-kun, though you don't remember. Are you well? I'm so sorry you had to go through life alone like that, it must have been so hard…"

"It was my choice. I couldn't let Syaoran suffer alone. May I call you mother?"

"_But I am!_" laughed the woman. "_Is Syaoran there? I'd like to talk to him too."_

Watanuki handed the phone to a nervous Syaoran. "She wants to talk to you."

"_Hello? Are you all right son?_" the woman said.

"M-mom?" that was all Syaoran managed. Then he broke down in tears. _They remember me! I wasn't wiped out from their memories. _ He had had some serious worries about it.

"_Syaoran! Are you all right!"_ Then the man's voice took over. "_Syaoran!_"

"Father?"

"_I'm so glad both of my boys are all right. Listen, we're both coming home as soon as we can, all right?"_

"You remember me!"

"_Of course we do. Let's just say there was a lot of magic involved."_ The magic staff belonging to Syaoran's mother had been part of the price paid to Yuuko, so that they would remember Syaoran's existence. "_We'll be there… well, in maybe one hour? Depending on the traffic. You'll be there?"_

"Of course! I missed you so much, Father!" Syaoran sobbed.

"_All right, we'd better get started then. See you!"_

Syaoran wiped his eyes, and looked at Watanuki. "Sorry I broke down like that. It's just…"

"It's all right, I'm crying too. It's funny. I don't remember their voices at all, but I felt this huge longing with my entire body."

"The body remembers. I know."

"Yes. I think, even if they didn't remember you in their minds, they would still have taken you in because their bodies would remember they had you."

Syaoran thought about it. He didn't know if he was comforted or alarmed.

"This place is a mess. Let's clean up a little before they get here."

An hour later, they were ready, and waited. They heard footsteps hurrying to the front door, and then knocking. Voices that Syaoran knew so well, and Watanuki longed for so strongly that he felt he was going to burst.

The boys rushed to the door.

"Shall we?" Syaoran said.

"Here goes."


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N: I had meant to type this up a long time ago but kept putting it off. Now TRC seems to be rushing to its conclusion. I had better get to it!)

Memories of the Body

"You seem troubled," said the senior Li Syaoran to his wife. She was seated, looking out the window. "Does it bother you so much that you don't recall the boy who calls himself Syaoran?"

"I feel mostly sad for him dear. I know what happened, that he turned back time to save his own Princess, wiping himself out from this world's existence and from our memories- his own father and mother! All the years that now never were."

Mr. Li Syaoran smiled, carressing his wife's hair. After fourteen years of marriage, it still retained its sheen and brilliant colour. "So when the boys opened the door, what did you do?"

"I scooped them up and hugged them to death. Both of them."

"Yes, both of them, young Syaoran as well as our Kimihiro. You fussed over Syaoran as if you'd known and raised him all your life!"

"Speaking of Kimihiro—he doesn't actually remember us," Sakura said sadly.

"It's the same for him as for us: his body remembers. His tears don't lie. Deep down, he knows that he belongs with us. If his memories are lacking, we'll just make new ones together," The elder Syaoran turned and looked through the window, looking over the front garden.

A girl was walking down the path to the front door. He smiled knowingly and not without a little fondness.

* * *

The Clone was not exactly lost, but he felt lost. Perhaps he wanted to be lost. He shoould be getting back; Doumeki would start worrying about him. Ever since the Wishing Shop had vanished, its purpose accomplished, he had been staying with Doumeki Shizuka at his family temple/house. Doumeki had looked surprised when he had asked to lodge with him. Doumeki wouldn't say much, but likely thought he didn't belong there.

To the Clone's mind, bent towards regret and guilt, it meant that the boy didn't want him around. Little did he guess what Doumeki actually thought where he should have gone.

The Clone wasn't sure where he belonged. He didn't know what his original thought of him. After all, they had tried to kill each other at each previous encounter. And this new world made his head spin. He had gone running in the park trying to clear his mind, but that made him remember the training Kurogane had obligingly given him before he turned rogue.

_Maybe I deserve to be alone,_ mused the young clone, whose name had been given as Syaoran by his adoptive father, a world and an age away, in a land called Clow. Tired out, he sat on a bench. He tilted his head up, taking deep breaths. It had been a good run. The late summer leaves were just starting to yellow at the edges, rustling in the breeze. Soon they would turn yellow, orange and red, falling like… a cloud of petals.

The young clone shuddered. How could he ever forget? Sakura… Princess. "No," he mumbled.

"No, what?" said the old man sitting next to him. Syaoran almost jumped. The old man must have joined him while he was woolgathering. Kurogane would have given him an earful.

"Err, nothing really," he said, and then halted when he realized who he had been talking to.

"That's usually untrue," said old Fujitaka Kinomoto," but I won't dig in. Would you like to have one?" He offered Syaoran a can of fruit juice.

"Fujitaka-san!" gasped the boy in confusion. Then he stopped himself. This was not the same person who had adopted him. This man belonged to this world, father to this world's Sakura Kinomoto, and grandfather to this world's Syaoran.

"Ah so you know my name!"

Syaoran saw the man's briefcase leaning at his knee. Lamely he pointed at the name in gold lettering.

"Smart lad," the old man said putting the briefcase at his side and pushing the drink into Syaoran's hand (Syaoran almost bolted). "There's nothing like a cold drink after a run. Go on, take it."

"Ah… thank you," Syaoran's polite side resurfaced. He pulled a tab and drank. It really felt good.

"I haven't seen my daughter and son-in-law for a while. They moved away, you see. But now they're moving back into town, into their old place. They've invited me for some sort of reunion. Somehow, you remind me so much of him." Syaoran held very still. "I wish you all the best. Take care!"

Syaoran watched the old man totter away. He yearned to follow him, spill his heart to him, but… this man was not his adoptive father.

His adoptive father was now, in the restored continuum, the King of Clow, father to Clow Country's Sakura Kinomoto. Neither of them remembered now a clone who was a by-product of the spacetime anomaly caused when his original had wound back time.

In the restored time-line, his duplicate Sakura had never existed. Fei Wong Reed, retaliating at his creature's betrayal, had sealed away that timeline. The original and the clone had been returned to the Earth where it had all begun, where the dimensional witch kept her shop. And Fei Wang made sure to restore the clone's memories, so that he would be plagued by conscience and guilt. Having a heart culd be painful.

This Earth was not the place where he belonged. He had nowhere to go. Even Yuuko Ichihara's Shop had moved on, its purpose here fulfilled. He was lucky Doumeki had agreed to let him stay at his place.

Then Syaoran noticed that the old man had left his suitcase on the bench.

He had no idea where this world's Fujitaka lived. He did know where the the original's Li House was: Yuuko had written it down in case he needed help of a magical nature. The old man was headed there.

The clone's adoptive father had instilled a deep sense of honesty in him. He had to return the suitcase. But the thought of approaching the Li House filled him with dread.

There was only one thing to do.

* * *

The girl rang the doorbell. It was not an electronic buzzer like most homes, but a classic bell-pull that rang through the house. It made the girl nervous. When the door opened, she found herself looking up at the senior Li Syaoran.

"This is the Li residence," said the master of the household.

"Oh… ummm," the girl squeaked. "Is Mr. Fujitaka Kinomoto here?"

"Well, not just yet. But he'll be coming for dinner shortly. Would like to stay and wait?"

"No, it's all right. He left this in the park this afternoon," the girl held up a suitcase. The name Fujitaka Kinomoto in small gold letters was printed on its side. "Would you return this to him? He told me he was coming here, then just left without the suitcase."

The girl seemed very shy, and would not meet Mr. Li's eyes. He took the suitcase from her. "Thank you very much, Miss. I'll make sure Mr. Kinomoto gets it. Sorry for troubling you." Mr. Li was grinning, which made the girl uneasy.

"Uh, it's no trouble," she squeaked.

"Are you sure you won't stay?"

"Thank you very much, but I really have to go," the girl hurriedly turned around and hurried down the path to the gate. And came to halt: it was as if she walked right into an invisible pillow. It wasn't a powerful barrier. The girl could have broken it down easily with the counter-spells that she knew.

But force would have been met with more force. She knew the game was up

"You know, that's not a bad disguise," said the senior Syaoran. "It would really have fooled most people. Did you know—of course you don't—that I played a girl in a school play once? I think it was Sleeping Beauty. They said I really did look like a girl, just a shame about the acting." He came up behind the clone, putting his hand on the clone's shoulder.

For it was the clone, disguised as a girl for the second time in his life.

"I don't belong here," said the young duplicate, his shoulders slumped.

"Don't talk like that."

"I've done terrible things."

"So have I. I sent a seven year old child, my own son, alone to another dimension. I have a part in your beginning. He was imprisoned for seven years. And now I can't even remember him. My other child, Kimihiro doesn't remember me at all… a price he paid to save his twin. Only the memory of the body keeps us all together." Even he was surprised how much emotion came out. It must have been bothering him more than he thought.

The clone said without turning, "I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to make you bring that up." He was moved.

The senior Li Syaoran was pleasantly surprised. There was indeed a kindly side to this duplicate of his son. "Please come in. I insist."

"But—"

"Let there be no more lost children," said Mr Li Syaoran. He ruffled the boy's hair. "At least join us for dinner?"

"All right," the young clone gave in.

"I know what happened, so you can let me do the talking if you don't feel like it," said the senior Syaoran, gently herding the boy to the door. He opened it, and stepped in to announce to his growing family, "We have another guest! Would you bring another plate for him?"

He stepped aside to make way.

"Oh how cute!" squealed his wife Sakura.

Kimihiro looked astounded, wide-eyed, then turned away politely, "I- I'll go get another plate. Excuse me!"

The young original Syaoran actually giggled and tried to cover it up with a cough, failed, tried not to grin, and not really succeeding excused himself to "help Kimihiro-kun" in the kitchen. Any thought of hostility simply vanished from his mind. What an entry!

The senior Syaoran was perplexed. Of all reactions, he was not expecting this. He turned to apologise to the clone… and froze.

The young clone had come in still wearing girl's clothing. He was completely mortified, blushing bright red.

"Oops. My bad."


End file.
